Being on a boat on the Backwater is a great experience and well worth a visit.

It's important to stress that this is India and not everything works as you might expect. Going on a houseboat on the Backwater is a great experience and shouldn't be missed. HOWEVER, the pictures and description are not what you get as this is an entry for an agency who will find you a place on a boat when you book - you will NOT be on this boat. The description doesn't reflect what you get on any boat and if I had to guess the person putting on the original entry has simply ticked every box available to them. Most boats don't have a bar and are often 'dry' so be aware but you can sometimes  bring your own. There is no food menu so it's a take it or leave it choice. In other words, no choice but the food on our boat was good. Wi-Fi was only available once you dock at the end of the day as most of the boats don't have their own independent WiFi. There was also no toiletries or toilet paper so bring your own. This trip was meant to be for 4 nights but to our amazement we discovered on the morning of day 2 that we had to move boats with 15 mins notice. The whole houseboat set up is really geared towards a 1 night stay so we had to go for a walk each day whilst they cleaned the boat. My advice would be to book directly through a Houseboat web site where you can book a specific boat and don't do more than a couple of days. Finally, if you are lucky it will turn out okay in the end but be prepared!